Malia’s POV
My heart skipped a bit as Ryder strolled into the conservatory.
I heard Ronan’s sharp intake of breath.
“Alpha Ryder, we were not expecting you,” he greeted calmly.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you two in here either,” he replied with a smile.
“The beta has taken it upon himself to take me to all of the interesting rooms in the palace. I spent a part of this morning and afternoon in the grand library,” I said to Ryder.
“That’s so kind of you, brother,” he replied without taking his eyes off me.
“What’s he doing here?” I asked Ronan.
“It beats me. My brother is not a fan of flowers,” he replied.
Ryder’s eyes which betrayed his amusement moved back and forth between me and Ronan.
“You two realise that I’m right here and can hear you, right?” He asked.
I tried not to focus on how much his T-shirt emphasized his broad shoulders and well-defined chest.
“It seems you do not like flowers, so what brings you here? I’m just curious,” I said.
“Well, I’m as curious as you are. Why am I even here?” He wondered with a straight face.
I rolled my eyes. “Are you serious right now?”
He grinned at me and moved towards the wolfsbane. “Do you remember how these used to be mom’s favourite?”
Ronan grunted a response.
“Malia, please permit me to steal your friend for a moment,” Ryder said to me.
I snorted. “It’s not like you’re not going to do it if I said no,” I murmured.
He chuckled and fastened his eyes expectantly on his brother.
Ronan arched an eyebrow questioningly at Ryder but followed him out of the conservatory without saying a word.
I thought about going to place an ear on the door to listen to their conversation but decided against it. There was no need to be overly curious.
I continued to feed my eyes with the beautiful flowers and I thought about transplanting one of them. Having a couple of foxgloves or lily of the valley in my room was not a bad idea.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking about having one of those in your room?” Ryder asked as he walked towards me.
I looked behind him and raised an eyebrow when I didn’t see Ronan.
“Your friend suddenly had something urgent to attend to,” he explained.
I nodded thinking that it was rude of him to have gone just like that without saying anything to me.
Ryder’s gaze found the history book that I had placed on the stool.
“I think both the vampires and werewolves were at fault. But their pride wouldn’t let them admit it to themselves and each other. Hence a lot of unnecessary bloodshed and enmity till this day,” he stated.
I regarded him with interest.
“Do you think you could have handled things better if you had been in their shoes? Because from the little time I’ve spent with you, I’ve learned that your pride is as big as the entire palace,” I said.
He chuckled. “I’ll take that as a joke.”
I scoffed and returned my gaze to the flowers.
“I might be a little bit arrogant but I’ll never risk the lives of my people or hurt the innocent. I’m not that self-centred,” he said.
“I’ll say you said so,” I replied without looking back at him.
We stayed in silence for a while until I turned to find out what he was up to.
“Ryder!” I exclaimed.
He was busy fondling the petals of a wolfsbane flower. With no gloves on.
He looked up at me innocently. “What?”
“You know what,” I replied with an irritated look.
He ignored me and plucked one. He started to bring it closer to his nose.
I hurried towards him and gave him a smack on the back of his head. “Have you lost your mind?” I asked.
The flower dropped from his hand.
“That hurt more than I think this wolfsbane is going to,” he said, rubbing the back of his head.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed his hand. I led him to the sink. “Now wash those hands,” I ordered.
“Yes ma’am,” he smirked.
I removed my gloves and washed my hands too. There was nothing like being too careful when it came to poisonous stuff.
We both wiped our hands on the clean cloth spread out on a stool.
“Let’s get out of here. You’ve proven to be self-destructive,” I said to him.
To my annoyance, he burst out laughing. “Stop being so dramatic,” he said.
“Whatever,” I replied, leading him by hand out of the room.
I didn’t let go of his hand once we were outside. I kept on leading him down the hallway.
He chuckled in amusement. “Do you even know where you’re going?” He asked once we rounded a corner.
“No, I don’t. But you’re here so I know that I can’t get lost,” I replied.
He soon stopped in his tracks and no matter how hard I tugged at his arm, he didn’t budge.
His eyes twinkled in amusement at my effort. With one quick, easy pull, I was in his arms.
I felt his hands tighten around my waist. I placed my hands on his chest to push him away.
He was as steadfast as a wall.
“Ryder, what the hell are you doing? Anyone could walk pass this hallway at any time,” I said, alarmed.
“Does it look like I care? I’m the Alpha,” he said.
“Don’t be silly and let go of me this instant,” I ordered.
“And if I don’t?” He challenged with a gleam in his eyes.
I let out a sigh of frustration and closed my eyes. I was beginning to notice other things. Like how good he smelled and how muscular his chest was underneath my palms.
“Ryder, please,” I begged.
“No,” he said.
To my horror, his voice had taken on a hoarse tone and my body reacted to it.
I shivered in his arms.
“Malia,” he groaned, pulling me even tighter against him.
“Ryder, don’t,” I said and was appalled by the lack of conviction in my voice.
“Don’t what?” He asked, his hands moving from my waist to cup my butt.
I bit my lip to keep from moaning and was about to attempt to wriggle out of his grasp when a shrill voice resonated behind us.
Shit.